Process and apparatus for advertising component placement

ABSTRACT

A method of digital advertising, comprising: receiving a plurality of video material sources; optionally converting video material from a format of said sources into one or more placement operating formats; placing a digital advertising component into video material; and outputting the video material with the digital advertising component integrated within it for distribution. Preferred embodiments of the invention involve generating a market for placement zones suitable for receiving digital advertising components, wherein a market is generated by for example a bidding process against one or more available placement zones or offering one or more available placement zones with an indication its value/price. Other embodiments disclosed include a method of processing video material for advertising component placement, the method comprising: scanning video material suitable for advertising component placement to detect a placement zone of a minimum predetermined area and which remains in view for a minimum predetermined period of time; inserting a place-holder in the placement zone; and saving the video material with the place-holder to storage means. Also disclosed are computer apparatus and systems for performing the above-mentioned methods and related methods, and a system and method for management and manipulation of digital assets.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The invention relates to a process and apparatus for the placement ofadvertising components into content, and particularly video material.

BACKGROUND

It is well known to display advertisements, made of one or moregraphical components before, during or after a television program orfilm. For example, a television program may be spliced into a pluralityof segments and advertising components may be displayed in betweenspliced segments, before the television program and after the televisionprogram. However, the splicing of a program into segments deteriorates aconsumers viewing pleasure when watching the program. Accordingly, thistype of intrusive placement of advertising components is not popularwith consumers. In addition, the introduction of digital televisionset-top boxes, such as Sky Plus from BSkyB, means that a consumer canskip or fast forward advertising components. This reduces the amount ofrevenue generated by the placement of advertising components.

It is also known to place advertising components strategically within ashot when recording a television program or film. For example, asillustrated in FIG. 1, Coca Cola™ glasses are positioned on a tablewithin a shot. This type of advertising is more acceptable to theconsumer. However, due to an increasingly global market where televisionprograms and films are shown around the world, this type of advertisinghas limitations. For example, an advertiser may only have paid toadvertise their product in one country, or brands may differ betweencountries. Furthermore, this type of advertising has to be consideredprior to recording the television program or films etc.

Embodiments of the invention seek to provide improved methods, includingbusiness processes and apparatus for placing advertising components invideo material such as television programs or films etc.

SUMMARY

According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provideda method preparing video material for distribution comprising:

-   -   providing a repository of video material;    -   analyzing video material to define placement zones for placement        of digital advertising components;    -   electronically placing one or more digital advertising        components in video material; and    -   outputting video material for distribution.

Preferably, said step of electronically placing comprises digitaltracking of the digital video material such that after the placing stepthe digital advertising components is integrated within the format ofthe digital video material. Even more preferably, the tracking involvesfeature by feature tracking over a plurality of frames. For exampleplacement may involve pixel by pixel tracking over a series of frames.

Embodiments of the invention are capable of placing a plurality ofdigital advertising components in different placement zones of a videomaterial item. Likewise, the repository of video material will inpractice holds many individual items of video material from variousvideo material sources.

In certain embodiments, there is generated a market for placement zonesin video material, for example by means of providing a bidding interfacethrough which parties wishing to place advertising components can bidcompetitively for placement zones. Alternatively, or in addition, avaluation is placed on one or more placement zones such that it can beoffered to the market at a predetermined price or at a particularreserve price.

Preferably, the repository of video material comprises video materialfrom a plurality of different sources. In certain embodiments, videomaterial from different sources may be in different formats.Accordingly, video material into which digital advertising componentsare to be placed is converted into one or more digital operating formatsin which the step of placement takes place.

In one embodiment, distribution of the video material is performed viathe source of the original material, such as a web site containing videocontent. In other embodiments, distribution of the video material may beperformed alternatively or in addition via separate video distributionchannels.

In some embodiments, corresponding video material Which is distributedto different users or to different geographical regions or to differentdemographical regions carries different digital advertising components,as may be desired.

Users of digital advertising component placement facilities according toembodiments of the present invention benefit from superior choice ofmaterial and improved targeting of advertising effort, having regard toconventional methods. For example, attributes of digital consumerslikely to consume certain categories of digital video content are wellcharacterized and hence embodiments of the present invention allowadvertisers to reach more relevant audiences. Another advantage is theability to accurately measure results from such campaigns.

According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provideda method for preparing video material for distribution, comprising:

-   -   receiving video material from a plurality of video sources;    -   receiving digital advertising components;    -   converting the video material from said video sources into one        or more operating formats suitable for receiving placement of a        digital advertising component;    -   electronically placing the digital advertising component into        the video material in an operating format such that the digital        advertising component becomes integrated into said video        material format; and    -   outputting said video material for distribution.

According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provideda method of preparing digital video material from a plurality of videomaterial sources for distribution, comprising:

-   -   preparing video material by processing the video material to        identify suitable placement zones for receiving digital        advertising components;    -   generating a market for one or more placement zones; and    -   placing a digital advertising component in a particular        placement zone responsive to a request from an advertiser for a        particular digital advertising component to be placed in that        placement zone.

Preferably, said advertiser is an advertising agency and/or a brandholder, but the term advertisers should not be so limited. Preferably,there is some desirable correlation between the digital advertisingcomponent placed and the placement zone selected for its placementand/or the video material in which the placement zone resides. In thisway, advertisers and brand holders can ensure their advertisingcomponents reach relevant target audiences.

Preferably, said processing is performed electronically (i.e. withouthuman intervention). In certain embodiments, said processing may bemanual (i.e. performed with the aid of a human operator).

In some embodiments, the digital advertising component is a graphicalelement supplied by one or more of: an advertiser; a brand holder; and acreative services provider. In some contexts herein, the term advertiseris used to refer to all of these entities. In certain embodiments themethod of preparing digital video material from a plurality of videomaterial sources for distribution, further comprises providing arepository of video material.

According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provideda method of preparing video material for distribution, comprising:

-   -   preparing video material by processing the video material to        identify suitable placement zones for receiving digital        advertising components;    -   valuing individual placement zones and/or pluralities of        placement zones and providing information on said valuations to        advertisers; and    -   receiving a selection of placement zone(s) responsive to        provision of said valuations.

Preferably, the step of valuation comprises receiving (or generating)one or more metrics relating to said video material. For example, avaluation of a particular placement zone may be based at least in parton one or more metrics relating to historic or anticipated futureviewing statistics. Such statistics may be a function of the popularityof video material in which the placement zone resides, a function of theintended distribution channel, and/or a function of the placement zonehaving regard to other placement zones.

In certain embodiments the method of preparing video material fordistribution, further comprises providing a repository of videomaterial.

According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provideda method of advertising in digital video material, comprising:

-   -   obtaining consent from a plurality of sources of video material        to place digital advertising components in video material from        said sources;    -   receiving and aggregating video material from a plurality of        sources;    -   preparing video material for placement of digital advertising        components, including identifying and marking suitable placement        zones;    -   receiving from an advertiser a selection from among available        placement zones for a particular advertising component;    -   placing said particular advertising component in the relevant        placement zone responsive to said selection; and    -   outputting the video material with the digital advertising        component placed within it.

Preferably, the method further includes a step of obtaining the approvalof the video material owner/distributor for the combination of placedadvertising component and video material.

Preferably, the method further includes a step of obtaining the approvalof the advertiser for the combination of the placed advertisingcomponent and the video material.

In certain embodiments, a step of approval by one party or anothertriggers a charge to be applied to relevant parties. Alternatively, orin addition, payment may fall due to a placement facility from a partyplacing a digital advertising component on one or more of: (i)placement; and (ii) supply of the digital video material with therelevant component or components placed therein to a distributor fordistribution. Alternatively, or in addition, payments may be appliedbased on subsequent viewing activities or subsequent click throughactivities.

In certain embodiments, payments may be distributed among one or moreof: the parties placing the digital advertising component; the sourcesof video material; creative services; and distributors of the videomaterial. Optionally, payments may be made to metrics providers and/orbilling partners. In one embodiment, the placement facility sharesadvertising revenue with advertising agencies if advertisers placeadverts through the facility.

According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provideda method of preparing digital video material for distribution,comprising:

-   -   providing a repository of video material;    -   preparing individual video material items within said repository        of video material for receiving placement of a digital        advertising component by defining one or more placement zones        suitable for receiving such a digital advertising component;    -   providing a mechanism for selection of a placement zone in video        material for a particular digital advertising component by an        advertiser;    -   placing a digital advertising component responsive to a        selection of an advertiser; and    -   charging at least said advertiser based on said selection.

According to any of the methods and systems disclosed herein, thedigital advertising component may comprise a dynamic link (such as ahyperlink). In such cases, a dynamic link in the form of an advertisingcomponent in the video material allows users to benefit from a furtheror enhanced experience associated with the advertiser, the brand orbrand holder. In certain embodiments, a dynamic link connects to afacility for measuring user response to targeted advertising components.

According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provideda method of categorizing video material in a repository based at leastin part on one or more of: genre; popularity; and price. According toanother aspect of the present invention, categorized video material issearchable based on such categories or provided in a ranking table inorder of priority according to some measure of relevance.

According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provideda method of categorizing placement zones within video material, based atleast in part on one or more of: genre; popularity; and price. Accordingto another aspect of the present invention, categorized placement zonesare searchable or provided in a ranking table in order of priorityaccording to some measure of relevance.

According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provideda method of processing video material for advertising componentplacement, the method comprising:

-   -   scanning video material suitable for advertising component        placement to detect a placement zone of a minimum predetermined        area and in view for a minimum predetermined period of time;    -   inserting a place-holder in the placement zone; and    -   saving the video material with the place-holder to storage        means.

According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provideda method of operating a computer for processing video material foradvertising component placement, the method comprising:

-   -   providing a video material processor for scanning video material        suitable for advertising component placement to detect a        placement zone of a minimum predetermined area and in view for a        minimum predetermined period of time;    -   causing the video material processor to insert a place-holder in        the placement-zone; and    -   saving in storage means the video material with the        place-holder.

According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provideda method as detailed above, further comprising: allocating the scannedvideo material to at least one category of video material.

According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provideda method as detailed above, wherein the step of allocating the scannedvideo material to at least one category is performed prior to scanningthe video material.

According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provideda method as detailed above, wherein the step of allocating the scannedvideo material to at least one category is performed after the videomaterial is saved in the storage device.

According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provideda method as detailed above, further comprising: inserting the scannedvideo material in a category of a video material catalogue.

According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provideda method as detailed above, further comprising: inserting the scannedvideo material in a video material inventory.

According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provideda method as detailed above, wherein the step of inserting the scannedvideo material in a video material inventory is performed prior toscanning the video material.

In certain embodiments, the step of inserting the scanned video materialin a video material inventory is performed after the video material issaved in the storage device.

According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provideda method as detailed above, wherein the video material cataloguecomprises video material data associated with scanned video material.

According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provideda method as detailed above, wherein the video material data comprisesduration of the video material and/or date of creation of the videomaterial.

According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provideda method as detailed above, wherein the category comprises genre ofvideo material, type of video material and/or content of video material.

According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provideda method as detailed above, further comprising:

-   -   obtaining video material statistics about the video material        from a video material statistics provider; and    -   associating the video material statistics with the video        material

According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provideda method as detailed above, further comprising:

-   -   inserting the video material in a video material league table,        wherein the video material statistics are used to determine a        position of the video material in the video material league        table.

According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provideda method as detailed above, further comprising:

-   -   retrieving video material from its current location prior to        scanning the video material; and    -   returning the video material to its current location following        processing of the video material.

According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provideda method as detailed above, further comprising:

-   -   obtaining consumer viewing data from a consumer viewing data        provider.

According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provideda method as detailed above, wherein the consumer viewing data comprisesa consumer viewer's age, a consumer viewer's sex, and/or a consumerviewer's occupation.

According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provideda method as detailed above, wherein the step of obtaining consumerviewing data is performed prior to scanning the video material.

According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provideda method as detailed above, wherein the step of obtaining consumerviewing data is performed after saving the video material.

According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provideda method of inserting an advertising component in video material, themethod comprising:

-   -   selecting video material suitable for insertion of an        advertising component; and    -   inserting an advertising component into a place-holder within        the selected video material,    -   wherein the place-holder marks an area of the selected video        material which is predetermined as suitable for the insertion of        an advertising component.

According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provideda method as detailed above, further comprising:

-   -   receiving instructions to manipulate the advertising component;        and    -   processing the advertising component by applying the received        manipulation instructions to produce an integrated video        material and advertising component.

According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provideda method as detailed above, wherein the manipulation instructionscomprise resizing, rotating, altering colour, altering opacity, reducingred eye, adding blurring shadows and reflections, altering light oraltering grain size.

According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provideda method as detailed above, wherein the advertising component is astatic advertising component.

According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provideda method as detailed above, wherein the advertising component is adynamic advertising component.

According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provideda method as detailed above, wherein the advertising component provides alink to an advertiser's website or web page.

According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provideda method as detailed above, further comprising:

-   -   displaying the selected video material and inserted advertising        component for approval.

According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provideda method as detailed above, further comprising:

-   -   inserting a second advertising component into a second        place-holder within the selected video material.

According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provideda method as detailed above, wherein a first advertising component isinserted into the selected video material for a first region and asecond advertising component is inserted into the selected videomaterial for a second region different from the first region.

According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provideda method as detailed above, wherein a region comprises a country, astate, a county or a group of countries.

According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provideda method as detailed above, wherein a first advertising component isinserted into the selected video material when it is determined that aviewing consumer is a first viewing consumer and a second advertisingcomponent is inserted into the selected video material when it isdetermined that the viewing consumer is a second viewing consumer, thefirst viewing consumer being of a different consumer group to the firstviewing consumer.

According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provideda method as detailed above, wherein the first viewing consumer is a maleand the second viewing consumer is a female.

According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provideda method as detailed above, wherein the video material is displayed in avideo material inventory comprising at least one video material.

According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provideda method as detailed above, wherein the video material is displayed in acategory of a video material catalogue comprising at least one videomaterial.

According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provideda method as detailed above, further comprising:

-   -   retrieving the video material from a storage device prior to        insertion of the advertising component.

According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provideda method as detailed above, further comprising

-   -   returning video material to the storage device after insertion        of the advertising component.

According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provideda method as detailed above, wherein the advertising component isuploaded from a user's computer.

According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provideda method of operating a computer for inserting an advertising componentin a video material, the method comprising:

-   -   selecting video material suitable for insertion of an        advertising component; and    -   receiving at a video material processor instructions to insert        an advertising component into a place-holder within the selected        video material,    -   wherein the place-holder marks an area of the selected video        material which is predetermined as suitable for the insertion of        an advertising component.

According to other aspects of the invention, there are provided computerapparatus and computer program products arranged to perform the abovemethods. According to further aspects, the invention provides softwarecomprising program code to cause performance of steps in theabove-defined methods. Preferably, said software is recorded on acarrier or carriers.

According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provideda computer apparatus comprising:

-   -   an ingest module operable to interface at least one video        material source and to receive digital video material from said        source;    -   a grooming module operable to analyze ingested video material to        identify and mark one or more placement zones in said video        material which is suitable for receiving a digital advertising        component;    -   a placement module capable of placing a digital advertising        component into a marked placement zone within said video        material; and    -   an export module interfacing one or more video material        distributors and capable of exporting video material with        digital advertising components placed therein for distribution        in a distribution format.

Preferably, said computer apparatus further comprises an approval moduleinterfacing one or more of: an advertiser; a video material source; anda video material distributor.

Preferably, one or more of said ingest module, said grooming module, andsaid placement module is capable of detecting formats of the digitalvideo material and, where appropriate, converting received videomaterial into an operating format in which digital graphical advertisingcomponents can be placed into said video material electronically. Incertain embodiments, a plurality of operating formats are supported.

Preferably, one or more of said placement module, said approval module,and said export module is capable of converting video material withdigital advertising components placed therein into one or morepredetermined distribution formats.

Preferably, said computer apparatus comprises a metrics module forgenerating and/or receiving valuation information about video material.Alternatively, or in addition, said computer system may comprise abilling module arranged to charge an advertiser which successfullyplaces a digital advertising component in a placement zone offered bythe computer apparatus.

According to another embodiment of the present invention, a groomingmodule comprises software having code for tracking candidate placementzones frame by frame to determine the placement zone has sufficient areaand/or duration. Preferably, said tracking is performed automatically bythe software.

According to embodiments of the present invention, a placement modulecomprises software having code for placing digital graphical componentsinto digital video material in a predetermined digital video operatingformat. Preferably, said software integrates said digital graphicalcomponent with said digital video material by causing the placedcomponent to track the digital video image information frame by frame.In certain embodiments, the placed advertising component exhibits visualattributes of the placement zone as the sequence of frames progresses.

According to another aspect of the present invention, the or eachplacement zone is defined in terms of one or more pixel of a frame inthe video material. Preferably, said placement zone is marked by anappropriate place-holder. The place holder may take any suitable form.

In certain embodiments, the digital advertising component and theplacement zone of the digital video material containing the place-holderare combined before being transmitted, for example over a network fordistribution. In other embodiments, the digital advertising componentand the digital video material containing the place-holder selected forreceiving said digital advertising component are transmitted separately,for example over a distribution network, and recombined at a locationremote from the placement location. For example, in such cases placementcomprises associating a digital advertising component with the relevantplacement zone place-holder, and separately sending these components toa remote location for combination. The remote location for combinationmay comprise an electronic device at the consumer premises or perhaps adevice at a distribution node between the placement location and theconsumer premises.

According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provideda computer system with some or all of the above components, having thecapability of “near-live” distribution of video material, and whereinone or more of the following aspects relating to a placement zone hasbeen agreed in advance: quality; visibility; duration; and nature ofhost video material.

According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provideda computer system with some or all of the above components, and furthersupporting the insertion of digital advertising components with dynamiclinking capability.

In general, the digital advertising component may be considered to be abrand (registered as a trademark or otherwise). However, in certainembodiments, the digital advertising component may be something else,e.g. a banner or a tower advertisement.

According to another aspect of the invention, there is provided a methodof providing video material with one or more integrated advertisingcomponents, comprising:

-   -   receiving digital video material and a digital advertising        component for placement therein;    -   preparing the video material by determining a placement zone for        said advertising component within said video material and        associating said advertising component with the placement zone;        and    -   sending the prepared video material and the associated        advertising component to a remote combining module operable to        combine the prepared video material and the advertising        component by integrating said advertising component into said        placement zone before distribution of said video material.

According to another aspect of the invention, there is provided a methodof providing video material with one or more integrated advertisingcomponents, comprising:

-   -   receiving prepared digital video material, said prepared digital        video material comprising video material in an operating format        and having defined within it at least one placement zone for        receiving a digital advertising component,    -   receiving a digital advertising component with an indication        associating it with a particular placement zone in prepared        digital video material;    -   combining the prepared digital video material with the digital        advertising component by integrating said advertising component        into the particular placement zone within said video material;        and    -   outputting said video material for distribution.

According to certain embodiments of the above methods, a plurality ofdigital advertising components are supplied in association with aparticular placement zone of the video material, and differentadvertising component placement zone combinations are implemented inrespect of alternative distribution channels and/or different consumersor consumer groups.

In one embodiment, digital advertising components are placed inparticular placement zones of video material based on profiles ofindividual consumers. Such profiles can be determined where consumersuse devices which require them to log on or similar.

According to embodiments of the present invention, video material may becomprised of back catalogued video material, near-live broadcastmaterial, and internet content, including user generated video content.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

For a better understanding of the invention and as to how the same maybe carried into effect reference will now be made, by way of exampleonly, to the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 illustrates the placement of Coca Cola™ glasses on a table duringthe recording of a television program;

FIG. 2 illustrates a plurality of different users and providers whichcan be brought together by a process of the invention;

FIG. 3 illustrates one embodiment of the invention where directadvertisers place bids in order to insert an advertising component inuser-generated video material;

FIG. 4 illustrates another embodiment of the invention where directadvertisers place bids in order to insert an advertising component invideo material;

FIG. 5 illustrates an overview of a process of the invention carried outby an AdBroker services provider;

FIG. 6A illustrates video material integrated with the advertingcomponent;

FIG. 6B illustrates video material prior to being integrated with theadverting component;

FIG. 7 illustrates a process of identifying and pre-processing a videomaterial for the insertion of an advertising component;

FIG. 8 illustrates a process for inserting an advertising component in apre-processed video material;

FIG. 9A illustrates a non-intrusive advertising component;

FIG. 9B illustrates a clickable link through advertising component;

FIG. 9C illustrates a tower advertising component placed at the side ofvideo material;

FIG. 9D illustrates a spliced advertising component placed between twosections of video material;

FIG. 10A illustrates an embodiment of the invention where a zoned videomaterial file and a tagged advertising component file are sent to avideo material distributor;

FIG. 10B illustrates an embodiment of the invention where an integratedvideo material and advertising component file sent to a video materialdistributor;

FIG. 11 illustrates a further embodiment of the process of FIG. 7;

FIG. 12 illustrates a further embodiment of the process of FIG. 7; and

FIG. 13 illustrates a server for performing the process of theinvention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Additional advantages and novel features of the invention will be setforth in part in the description which follows, and in part will becomeapparent to those skilled in the art upon examination of the followingand accompanying drawings or may be learned by practice of theinvention.

The internet is becoming increasingly dominant in society due to itslarge and varied content. The internet comprises a plurality of types ofvideo material such as, for example films, television programs, sportevents, or music events, which originate from, for example, filmstudios, broadcasters, and production companies, and so calleduser-generated video clips, which originate from non-professionalproviders. The number of user-generated video clips available on theinternet is increasing as a result of the increased number of videocameras and recording devices, such as mobile telephones, having imageand sound recording functions. These user-generated video clips havebeen known to reach a vast and diverse audience as a result of new modesof distribution including, but not limited to, video-based websites anduser groups, such as www.youtube.com (recently acquired by google),IPTV, and as a result of being emailed as attachments to multiple users,and can reach a “viral” status relatively quickly.

Embodiments of the invention aim to utilize the vast reservoir of videomaterial available on the internet, for advertising purposes.

Video material, may be audio visual material. Herein the term videomaterial refers to moving images, and includes without limitation audiovisual moving images material as well as visual moving images alone. Theterm video material is intended for internet or web based consumption,as well as material for distribution on traditional broadcast media.

FIG. 2 illustrates a plurality of different users and providers whichcan be brought together by embodiments of the invention in order toutilize video material for advertising purposes.

AdBroker 5 is an advertising services provider. As illustrated in FIG.2, the AdBroker services provider 5 can interface with a plurality ofdifferent users and providers in order to create an advanced advertisingservice. The service providers/users which may interface with theAdBroker services provider 5 are: video sources, such as materialproducers, suppliers and right holders 15; advertiser, such asadvertising agencies and direct advertisers 25; creative servicesproviders 35; content analyzers, such as, metrics, valuation and billingservices providers 45; and video material distributors 55.

The AdBroker services provider 5 is capable of interfacing with at leastone and preferably a plurality of different video material producers,suppliers and right holders 15. The video material producers, suppliersand right holders 15 are producers and/or suppliers of video material,such as films, television programs, sport events, music events and/oruser-generated video clips. The video material may have been createdusing any one of a plurality of different software programs and may besuitable for display on any one of a plurality of different electronicdevices, such as personal computers, digital television set-top boxes,mobile telephones, personal digital assistances (PDA's), gaming systemsand/or MP3 players. Consequently, the AdBroker service provider 5 iscapable of utilizing video material of any one of a plurality ofdifferent formats.

Furthermore, the video material producers, suppliers and right holders15 must have the authority to consent to the use of the video materialby the AdBroker services provider 5 with advertising components. Ifvideo material producers, suppliers and right holders 15 do not have theauthority to consent to the use of video material by the AdBrokerservices provider 5 with advertising components, then the AdBrokerservices provider 5 will not interface with that video materialproducer, supplier and right holder 15 regarding that video material.

The AdBroker service provider 5 is also capable of interfacing with atleast one and preferably a plurality of different advertising agenciesand direct advertisers 25. The advertising agencies and directadvertisers 25 can be any advertising agencies or direct advertisers whowish to place an advertising component in video material.

The AdBroker services provider 5 is also capable of interfacing with atleast one and preferably a plurality of different creative servicesproviders 35. The creative services providers 35 may provide servicessuch as the design and creation of advertising components for theadvertising agencies and direct advertisers 25.

The AdBroker services provider 5 is also capable of interfacing with atleast one metrics, valuation and billing services provider 45. Themetrics, valuation and billing services provider 45 is capable ofproviding metrics data indicating, for example, which video material ispredicted to be the most watched, by whom, and how many users haveviewed each video material to date. This and similar data can be used inorder to determine the price for placing an advertising component in aparticular video material, such that the video material which is viewedthe most is the most expensive. Furthermore, the metrics data can beused to determine the amount payable to the AdBroker services provider 5by the advertising agencies and direct advertisers 25. For example,advertising agencies and direct advertisers 25 may make a payment inrespect of how many people have viewed the video material comprisingtheir advertising component. Therefore, the metric data can be used todetermine how many people have viewed the video material since theadvertising component was inserted and consequently how much is payableto the AdBroker services provider 5.

The AdBroker services provider 5 is also capable of interfacing with atleast one and preferably a plurality of different video materialdistributors 55. The video material distributors 55 distribute the videomaterial once relevant advertising components have been placed in thevideo material. The video material distributors, may distribute thevideo material to a plurality of electronic devices of the same ordifferent types, such that the video material may be distributed in aplurality of different formats, each format suitable for viewing on adifferent type of electronic device.

The AdBroker services provider 5 interfaces with some or all of theabove mentioned components 15 to 55 in order to perform all the taskswhich are involved in the successful placement of advertising componentsin video material and distributing the video material.

FIG. 3 illustrates one embodiment of the invention where directadvertisers 25, with authority to use brands such as Ford™ and CocaCola™ place “bids” in order to insert an advertising component in theuser-generated video material “Urban Ninja”. The user-generated videomaterial is obtained by the AdBroker services provider 5 from a videomaterial producer, supplier and right holder 15 such as ITV Local™,Google™ or YouTube™.

In one embodiment of the invention, the insertion of an advertisingcomponent in video material is managed by an advertising salesman; suchthat the salesman is in contact with different advertisers in order tonegotiate placement of an advertising component and payment forplacement of the advertising component.

In another embodiment of the invention the AdBroker services provider 5organizes the bidding process, for example by generating a market ofplacement zones, facilitating comparisons, managing bidding andacceptance processes, setting a deadline when the final bids are to besubmitted, and awarding the advertising rights to the direct advertiser25 who submitted the most desirable bid.

In FIG. 3, the direct advertiser Coca Cola™ is successful andconsequently, the Coca Cola™ advertising component is inserted into therelevant zone in the “Urban Ninja” user-generated video material by theAdBroker services provider 5. The AdBroker services provider 5 thenreleases the “Urban Ninja” user-generated video material comprising aCoca Cola™ advertising component to a video material distributor 55,such as ITV Local™, Google™ or YouTube™. The “Urban Ninja”user-generated video material comprising a Coca Cola™ advertisingcomponent can then be viewed by a plurality of users via an electronicdevice, such as a personal computer as illustrated in FIG. 3.

FIG. 4 illustrates another embodiment of the invention where directadvertisers 25, such as Ford™ and Coca Cola™ place bids in order toinsert an advertising component in video material, such as thetelevision program Big Brother™. The video material is obtained by theAdBroker services provider 5 from a video material producer, supplierand right holder 15.

In one embodiment of the invention, the insertion of an advertisingcomponent in video material is managed by an advertising salesman, suchthat the salesman is in contact with different advertisers in order tonegotiate placement of an advertising component and payment forplacement of the advertising component.

In another embodiment, the AdBroker services provider 5 oversees thebidding process, for example by setting a deadline when the final bidsare to be submitted, and awards the advertising rights to the directadvertiser 25 who submitted the most desirable bid.

In FIG. 4, the direct advertiser Coca Cola™ is successful andconsequently, the Coca Cola™ advertising component is inserted into thevideo material by the AdBroker services provider 5.

The Coca Cola™ advertising component is inserted into the video materialby the AdBroker services provider 5 in respect of specific regions only.In the embodiment illustrated in FIG. 4 a region is an area of theUnited Kingdom, such as a broadcast region. However, a region may alsobe a specific country or a group of countries, such as Europe. TheAdBroker services provider 5 then releases the video material comprisingthe Coca Cola™ advertising component to a video material distributor 55,who distributes the video material comprising the Coca Cola™ advertisingcomponent to only the specific regions. Finally, the video materialcomprising the Coca Cola™ advertising component can be viewed by aplurality users, within the selected regions, via electronic devices,such as a television as illustrated in FIG. 4. Some embodiments supportthe placing of advertising components with active hyperlinks, throughwhich individual users can indicate interest and through which

AdBroker can measure and record interest and/or responses fromindividual advertising targets.

The non-selected regions in which the Coca Cola™ advertising componentis not inserted may be shown without the Coca Cola™ advertisingcomponent, or a different advertising component may be inserted.

FIG. 5 illustrates an overview of the processes carried out by anAdBroker services provider 5 of the invention. As illustrated in theembodiment of FIG. 5 the AdBroker services provider 5 comprises aningest module 500; a grooming module 505; a placement module 510; anapproval module 515; and an export module 520.

The ingest module 500 is capable of interfacing with at least one andpreferably a plurality of video material producers, suppliers and rightholders 15. The AdBroker services provider 5 ingests video material fromthe plurality of video material producers, suppliers and right holder 15which is suitable for the insertion of at least one advertisingcomponent. Prior to being ingested, it is established that the videomaterial producer, supplier and right holder 15 of the video material isauthorized to, and does authorize the use of the video material withadvertising components. In 20 some embodiments, the video material isscreened at this stage to ensure the content is appropriate fordistribution. Furthermore, it is established that the video material isin one of the plurality of formats which the AdBroker services provider5 is capable of using. In preferred embodiments, the ingested content,which may be in one of many supported formats (e.g. QuickTime™, AVI™,Windows Media™, MPEG), is converted into an operating format suitablefor use during the placement of the advertising components into thevideo material (e.g. QuickTime™).

In one embodiment of the invention, the video material is inserted intoa video material inventory at the ingest stage. In a further embodimentof the invention, the 30 video material is inserted into a videomaterial catalogue, which can be accessed and searched by theadvertising agencies and direct advertisers 25.

The ingest module 500 is also capable of interfacing with the metrics,valuation and billing services provider 45. Therefore, it is possible toobtain metrics data about each ingested video material, such as thenumber of users viewing the video material. The video material can thenbe inserted into a video material league table, based on the videomaterial metrics data. For example, the most popular video material maybe placed at the top of the video material league table. In certainembodiments, there may be a plurality of league tables dealing withpopularity of video material in certain categories.

The grooming module 505 prepares the ingested video material for theinsertion of advertising components. The grooming module 505 scans eachingested video material in order to detect if there are any areas withinthe video material which can be easily tracked from frame to frame andis consequently suitable for the placement of an advertising component.If a suitable area is detected, then a place-holder is inserted into thesuitable area to mark that area as a Placement-Zone (ZoneSense™). Thevideo material is then stored in a storage device, prior to insertion ofan advertising component. Preferably grooming occurs on candidate videomaterial items in a preferred operating format. However, where contentis available in a format other than an operating format, conversion toan operating format may occur before grooming and the video materialconverted back to its original format after grooming.

The placement module 510 is capable of interfacing with at least one andpreferably a plurality of advertising agencies and direct advertisers25.

An advertising agency or direct advertiser 25 has access to an AdBrokerservices provider 5 interface for searching the video materialinventory, the video material catalogue and/or the video material leaguetable in order to locate video material in which they wish to insert anadvertising component. Following the identification of a video materialitem with a desirable placement opportunity, the advertising agency ordirect advertiser 25 instructs the AdBroker services provider 5,preferably the placement module 510 of the AdBroker services provider 5,to insert an advertising component, supplied by the advertising agencyor direct advertiser 25, or a creative services providers 35, into thevideo material, onto the place-holder, such that the advertisingcomponent is integrated with the video material in the (or each)operating format. The step of instructing may comprise a purchase act ora successful bid, and/or other such acts.

FIG. 6A illustrates an advertising component (“Vans™”) integrated with avideo material item and FIG. 6B illustrates the video material prior tobeing integrated with the adverting component.

The approval module 515 is also capable of interfacing with theadvertising agencies and direct advertisers 25. Following insertion ofan advertising component into video material the integrated videomaterial and advertising component can be viewed by the advertisingagency or direct advertiser 25. The advertising agency or directadvertiser 25 can then either approve or reject the integrated videomaterial and advertising component. In one embodiment, approval of theintegrated video material and advertising component is also approval ofthe quality, appropriateness to campaign, messages and values of theintegrated video material and advertising component. In anotherembodiment, approval of the integrated video material and advertisingcomponent is also acceptance of the tariff.

The export module 520 is capable of interfacing with at least one andpreferably a plurality of video material distributors 55. The exportmodule 520 exports the integrated video material and advertisingcomponent to at least one video material distributor 55. In oneembodiment, the video material includes a film, which is to be releasedas a DVD, following insertion of the advertising component, theintegrated video material and advertising component are exported fromthe export module 520 in a file format appropriate for the manufacturingprocess of DVD's. The video material may include a television program,which is to be viewed through IPTV, following insertion of theadvertising component, the integrated video material and advertisingcomponent are streamed and spliced, and exported as injected/splicedfeed pre or post vision and editorial control. The video material mayinclude user-generated video material, following insertion of theadvertising component, the integrated video material and advertisingcomponent are exported from the export module 520 in the correct formatto a hosting facility through which the video material is viewed.

The integrated video material and advertising component can also betagged prior to export for metrics purposes.

The AdBroker services provider 5 can be used in order to placeadvertising components in “near-live” broadcast such as live televisionprograms, which are often aired with a delay, such as 10 seconds, suchthat the content can be monitored. In such instances placement, quality,visibility, and duration are pre-agreed with the advertiser prior to theprogram being aired as it is hot possible to include an approval module515 in the process. The AdBroker services provider 5 is used in astudio/gallery environment. Furthermore, the services provider 5 cansupport multiple streams and delivery/export to multiple networks,electronic devices and regions.

FIG. 7 illustrates a process for identifying and pre-processing videomaterial which is suitable for the placement of an advertisingcomponent. Video material may be, for example a user-generated videoclip, a film, a television program, a sports event, a music event of anyduration, or a static image, such as a photograph.

In step S100 video material which is considered suitable for theplacement of an advertising component is identified. The step ofidentifying video material may be performed by any person who has theauthority to determine whether the video material is suitable. Forexample, video material may not be considered suitable if it containspornographic content or extremely violent content. Alternatively, thevideo material may not be considered suitable if its quality ofreproduction is such that it does not meet certain predeterminedstandards. Such steps may also be performed automatically based onlabels, meta-tags or the like indicating the nature and/or content ofthe video material.

The video material can be any video material which is currentlydisplayed on the internet such as for example an user-generated videoclip, a film, a television program or an event, of any duration. In analternative embodiment, the producer of video material may submit thevideo material for consideration by the AdBroker services provider 5,rather then waiting for the video material to be identified by theprocess of the invention. In another embodiment, video material may beidentified prior to placement of the video material on the internet.

Once suitable video material has been identified, the producer(s)/rightholder(s) of the video material must be located so that his/herauthorization can be obtained for placement of an advertising componentin the video material. If the producer(s) authorization is not obtainedthen the video material is no longer considered suitable.

Following identification of video material at step S100, the processmoves to step S102 where the video material is inserted into a videomaterial inventory 10. The video material inventory 10 comprises a listof all identified suitable video material.

At step S104 the video material is allocated at least one category. Thevideo material may be allocated a category based on, for example, thegenre of the video material, the type of video material, or thesubstance of the video material. For example, if video material isconsidered to be humorous, then it may be allocated to the category“humorous”; if video material is a user-generated video clip, then itmay be allocated to the category “user-generated video clip”; or ifvideo material involves skate boarding, then it may be allocated to thecategory “skate boarding”. One video material may be allocated severaldifferent categories, for example a user-generated video clip featuringskate boarding may be allocated to the category “user-generated videoclip” and to the category “skate boarding”. Furthermore, video materialmay be allocated to a category and then also allocated to a sub-categoryof that category. For example, video material involving a humorous dogmay be allocated to the category “humorous animal”, and then may also beallocated to the sub-category “dogs”. The above mentioned categories aredescribed for illustrative purposes only, and the invention is notlimited to the categories detailed above.

In another embodiment of the invention the video material is dividedinto sections and each section is assigned a different category. Forexample, video material may be assigned a category or sub-categorysummarizing the overall content, such as “humorous” or “user-generatedvideo clip”. The video material is also divided into sections and eachsection is assigned a different category, for example a section may becategorized based on the actor/actress featured in the section, or asection may be categorized based on the type of location, e.g. acity/countryside/beach scene.

For example, a film may be two hours long and may comprise multiplesections of video material which are suitable for the insertion of anadvertising component to create integrated video material andadvertising components. Therefore, one section of the film may comprisea scene involving a large building onto which an advertising componentcould be inserted and another section of the film may comprise aclose-up of an actor wearing a T-shirt, onto which an advertisingcomponent could be inserted. In one embodiment, the advertisingcomponents may originate from the different advertisers.

In another embodiment, the video material may comprise metadata, whichis computed based on the video material content. The metadata can beused to support searching of a plurality of video material using queriessuch as “looks like . . . ”

In another embodiment of the invention, video material databases areautomatically processed to produce a representation of the database thatis quickly searchable. Therefore the video material is pre-processed asit is ingested. A video material databases can then be searched to findvideo material or a section of video material that “looks like” an imageor video sample. For example, given an image or video sample with cloudsor a building, an operator could search for similar video material.

At step S106, the video material is inserted into a video materialcatalogue 12. The video material catalogue 12 comprises a list of allthe identified suitable video material which is available for theplacement of advertising components. The video material catalogue 10 isdivided into categories such as genre of video material, type of videomaterial, substance of video material. Furthermore, all the identifiedvideo material which has been allocated to the same category is groupedtogether under that category in the video material catalogue 12.Therefore, it is easier for a user to peruse the video materialcatalogue 12 in order to locate a specific category of video material.

The video material catalogue 12 may also comprise information about thevideo material such as the running time of the video material the dateof creation of the video material, and/or whether an advertisingcomponent has already been placed in the video material etc.

In one embodiment, the video material catalogue 12 is implemented as arelational database and is accessible via the internet. The relationaldatabase can be searched using any appropriate search functions. Forexample, a user of the video material catalogue 12 is required to entera search term, such as “user-generated video clip” and all the videomaterial which has been allocated to the category “user-generated videoclip” is displayed. Any aspect of the database may be searched, forexample genre or subject. In a further embodiment, the search resultsare displayed in batches, for example only ten “user-generated videoclips” may be displayed at the same time on the same web page.

In one embodiment of the invention it is not necessary to insert theidentified video material into the video material inventory 10 at stepS102 prior to allocating the identified video material a category.Therefore, it is possible to move directly from step S100 to step S104as illustrated by the dotted line D1.

At step S108 video material statistics are obtained from a videomaterial statistics provider 14 and are associated with the videomaterial. The video material statistics comprise data about the videomaterial such as how many people have viewed the video material in acertain period of time, or since the video material was placed on theinternet. This data can be updated, for example, every 24 hours, everyweek or in real time. The video material statistics provider 14 is anindependent provider of statistics and may be the metrics, valuation &billing services providers 45 described above.

The provided video material statistics may be associated with eachidentified video material such that when viewing a plurality ofidentified video material the statistics associated with each videomaterial are also displayed. Therefore, a user is able to quicklydetermine how regularly a video material is viewed. Alternatively, or inaddition, the system may include its own image statistics provider.

In one embodiment of the invention it is possible to insert videomaterial in the video material inventory 10 at step S102, then godirectly to step S108 of obtaining and associating the video materialstatistic data for the identified video material as illustrated bydotted line D2. In this embodiment a video material catalogue 12 is notcreated.

With the video material statistics data the video material may beinserted into a video material league table 16 at step S110. The videomaterial league table 16 displays at least two identified videomaterials ordered as a result of the associated video materialstatistics, such that the most viewed video material is at the top ofthe video material league table 16.

At step S112 the identified video material is retrieved from its currentlocation for processing. Then at step S114 the retrieved video materialis analyzed in order to determine if there is at least onePlacement-Zone (ZoneSense™) in the video material. A Placement-Zone isan area within the identified video material which is suitable for theplacement of an advertising component. For example, a Placement-Zone ispreferably in view for at least a minimum predetermined period of time,is of at least a minimum predetermined area and is not too obscured byobjects in front of it. The step of analyzing the video material inorder to determine if there is a Placement-Zone can be performed by anoperator, or alternatively, it may be automated.

In one embodiment of the invention, if following examination it isdetermined that there is no Placement-Zone in the identified videomaterial, then the video material is no longer considered suitable.Consequently, the video material is removed from the video materialinventory 10, the video material catalogue 12 and/or the video materialleague table 16 as appropriate.

The Placement-Zone may be of any size as long as it is larger than theminimum predetermined area. In addition, the Placement-Zone may be inthe foreground or the background of the video material. However, it willbe apparent that larger, more prominent advertising components are ofmore value to a brand owner. In addition, if the Placement-Zone is inthe background, then the Placement-Zone may include a travelling mattedefining the visible area of the Placement-Zone. This travelling mattemight be defined by masks created by an operator (e.g. by rotoscoping orpainting a mask) or by automatic processing of the video material.

In order to determine if there is at least one Placement-Zone in thevideo material, the video material is scanned at step S114 a in order todetect any area within the video material which can be tracked easily asit is in view for at least a minimum predetermined period of time and isof at least a minimum predetermined area. Following identification of atleast one Placement-Zone, the video material is pre-processed for theinsertion of an advertising component by the placement of a place holderin the Placement-Zone at step S114 b. The place holder marks an areawithin the video material which is the Placement-Zone and is thussuitable for the placement of an advertising component. The videomaterial is then stored in a storage device 18 with the place holder,such that it will be relatively easy to place an advertising componentin the video material Placement-Zone at a later date. In anotherembodiment only the part of the video material with the Placement-Zoneholder is stored in a storage device 18.

In another embodiment of the invention, the detection of at least onePlacement-Zone in the video material is performed automatically. Forexample, in order to determine if there is a Placement-Zone in the videomaterial, the video material is scanned to determine if there are anyareas within the video material which can be tracked from frame toframe, such that it is in view for at least a minimum predeterminedperiod of time, is of at least a minimum predetermined area and is nottoo obscured by objects in front of it. This area is determined to be aPlacement-Zone. The tracking can be perform automatically using knownvideo tracking software.

Typically a Placement-Zone is first identified in a single frame of thevideo material, and then is tracked frame-by-frame through the videomaterial in order to identify and locate the Placement-Zone asaccurately as possible in each frame taking into account that thePlacement-Zone in each frame may have changed its position, orientation,and other geometric parameters. The appearance of the Placement-Zone mayalso change in each frame. For example, the Placement-Zone may bepartially obscured by other objects, or there may be shadows, highlightsor other illumination changes. In as many cases as possible the trackingsystem should recognize and locate the Placement-Zone. For example thesoftware product monet™, available from Imagineer Systems Ltd or similarcommercially available technology, could be used to trackPlacement-Zones through the video material.

When at least one Placement-Zone is detected automatically, as describedabove, a large number of candidate Placement-Zones are created which canthen be pruned either automatically or by an operator to produce amanageable number of Placement-Zones.

In one embodiment of the invention, the storage device 18 is the storagedevice from which the identified video material was retrieved at stepS112.

Finally, at step S116 the identified video material is returned to itsoriginal location with the place holder(s) to await selection and thesubsequent insertion of an advertising component.

In one embodiment of the invention, the video material is not retrievedfrom its original location at step S114. Instead a mirror copy of thevideo material is made. The mirror copy video material is thenpre-processed in accordance with steps S114 a to S114 c described above.Following pre-processing, the mirror copy video material comprising atleast one place holder is returned to the video material originallocation and saved over the original video material. Consequently, thevideo material producers, suppliers and right holders 15, upon agreeingto allow the video material to have at least one advertising componentinserted, also agrees to save the pre-processed and processed videomaterial, replacing the original video material.

In a further embodiment of the invention a tariff may also be insertedinto the Placement-Zone along with the place holder, such that a userwho is viewing a plurality of video material comprising Placement-Zone'sis informed of the cost of inserting an advertising component into thePlacement-Zone. The Placement-Zone may be marked by the insertion of abox around the Placement-Zone such that the user can clearly determinethe area into which an advertising component would be inserted.

In one embodiment of the invention it is possible to insert videomaterial in the video material inventory 10 at step S102 and then godirectly to step S112 of retrieving the identified video material fromits original location in order to pre-process the video material, asillustrated by the dotted line D3.

In a further embodiment of the invention it is possible to move directlyfrom step S108 of obtaining and associating video material statisticdata for the video material to step S112 of retrieving the videomaterial from its original location in order to pre-process the videomaterial, as illustrated by the dotted line D4.

In yet another embodiment of the invention it is possible to insertvideo material in the video material inventory at step S102, then godirectly to step S108 of obtaining and associating video materialstatistic data for the video material as illustrated by dotted line D2,and then moving directly to step S112 of retrieving the identified videomaterial from its original location in order to pre-process the videomaterial, as illustrated by the dotted line D4.

An identified video material is returned to its original location afterpre-processing, but is detailed in the video material inventory 10and/or the video material catalogue 12 for selection for the insertionof an advertising component at a later time or date.

Although the above description and FIG. 7 illustrate the video materialbeing pre-processed after insertion into a video material inventory, avideo material catalogue and/or a video material league table, inanother embodiment of the invention the video material is pre-processedafter the video material has been identified at step S100, and beforebeing inserted into a video material inventory, a video materialcatalogue and/or a video material league table

FIG. 8 illustrates a process for placing an advertising component in anidentified video material. The video material is identified andpre-processed in accordance with a process described above withreference to FIG. 7.

A user 20 elects to enter the advertising component placement facility22 at step S200. The advertising component placement facility 22displays the video material inventory 10 and/or the video materialcatalogue 12 and/or the video material league table 16, described abovewith reference to FIG. 7, at step S202. The user 20 can then search thevideo material inventory 10 and/or the video material catalogue 12and/or the video material league table 16 in order to select at leastone pre-processed video material for the placement of an advertisingcomponent at step S204.

In one embodiment of the invention, the user 20 may be required to loginto the advertising component placement facility 22 by entering apassword. In this embodiment non-authorized users are prevented fromusing the advertising component placement facility 22.

Upon selection of one of the pre-processed identified video material atstep S204, the advertising component placement facility 22 retrieves theselected video material from its original location at step S206, so thatthe video material can be processed.

An advertising component which is to be inserted into the selected videomaterial is provided by the user 20. Therefore, the user may elect toupload the advertising component from the user's computer 24 at stepS208. The user 20 requests the advertising component from the user'scomputer 24 at step S210 and the user's computer 24 sends theadvertising component at step S212. The advertising component is theninserted into the selected video material at step S214, by placement ofthe advertising component onto the place holder so that the advertisingcomponent is arranged in the Placement-Zone of the video material.

In another embodiment of the invention, the user may elect to upload theadvertising component from a creative services provider 35.

In one embodiment of the invention, the video material is not retrievedfrom its original location at step S206. Instead a mirror copy of thevideo material comprising at least one place holder is made. The mirrorcopy video material is then processed in accordance with steps S208 toS222 described above. Following processing, the mirror copy videomaterial comprising at least one advertising component is returned tothe video material original location and saved over the original videomaterial.

In one embodiment of the invention the advertising component is anon-intrusive advertising component, for example the advertisingcomponent is placed on a wall, on a bus, or on a t-shirt etc. within thevideo material. Non-intrusive advertising components may be eitherstatic or dynamic advertising components.

A static advertising component is an advertising component which isinserted into video material, to create video material with anintegrated advertising component, such that wherever the video materialis viewed, by whomever and whenever the advertising component will bedisplayed.

A dynamic advertising component is an advertising component which isinserted into video material, to create video material and integratedadvertising component, “on the fly”. For example, the advertisingcomponent which is integrated may be different depending on the regionin which the video material is to be displayed, and/or depending on whothe viewer of the advertising component is.

FIG. 9A illustrates a non-intrusive advertising component. Theadvertising component “BMW™” has been inserted into a wall within thevideo material.

The advertising component illustrated in FIG. 9A, is not animated, i.e.the advertising component is fixed and does not move within the videomaterial. However, an advertising component may have features which movewithin the video material.

In addition, a static or a dynamic advertising component may provide alink to the advertisers website or web page. When viewing the videomaterial, a consumer can click on the advertising component. Clicking onthe advertising component can either directly take the consumer to theadvertisers website or web page, or can record that the consumer isinterested in the product and wishes to mark the website or web page toreturn to following viewing of the video material. The link may alsoprovide the consumer with a list of other similar video material whichthe consumer may enjoy, or similar/complementary products which theconsumer may wish to purchase.

FIG. 9B illustrates another non-intrusive advertising component. Theadvertising component “Coca Cola™” has been inserted into a wall withinthe video material and is a clickable hyper-link to the Coca Cola™website.

Although the description above refers to the insertion of non-intrusiveadvertising components into a video material, it is also possible toapply a banner/tower advertising component to a video material using theprocess of the invention. A banner/tower advertising component is anadvertising component which is placed at the edge of the video material,either to the side or above/below the video material, rather thaninserted into the video material. A banner/tower advertising componentdoes not require a suitable. Placement-Zone to be detected within thevideo material.

FIG. 9C illustrates a tower advertising component placed at the side ofthe video material.

Alternatively, a spliced advertising component could be used inconjunction with the process of the invention. A spliced advertisingcomponent is used where video material is spliced into sections, such asscenes, and an advertising component is placed between the sections,such as conventional television advertising.

FIG. 9D illustrates a spliced advertising component placed between twosections of video material.

Both banner/tower advertising components and spliced advertisingcomponents can be non-intrusive, animated or clickable hyper-linkadvertising components as discussed above and can be used as static ordynamic advertising components.

Returning to FIG. 8, following insertion of the advertising componentinto the selected video material at step S214, the advertising componentis then manipulated at step S216. In one embodiment, the advertisingcomponent is manipulated such that it is the same size as thePlacement-Zone. Therefore, the advertising component may need to beresized or rotated. The advertising component may also be manipulated inother ways. For example, if the video material is of a bus driving downa street and the Placement-Zone is part of the front of the bus,although the front of the bus is in view for a minimum predeterminedperiod of time and is of at least a minimum predetermined size, thefront of the bus is not completely flat and its position altersthroughout the video material. Therefore, the advertising component whenplaced in the Placement-Zone needs to be manipulated such that itappears as if the advertising component was on the front of the bus whenthe video material was recorded. The advertising component ismanipulated such that any reflections and/or shadows that appear on thefront of the bus appears on the advertising component. In addition, theadvertising component may be manipulated at step S216 such that theadvertising component is blurred slightly as a result of the movement ofthe bus.

The aim is to create a natural look such that the advertising componentblends well with the video material in which it is placed. Thistypically involves adding appropriate shadow, highlight and otherlighting effects to the placed advertising component.

In another embodiment, shadow, highlight and other lighting effectscould be used in order to emphasize the advertising component, to createa completely different look for the advertising component.

In order to manipulate the advertising component, the Placement-Zone istracked as the video material is played, such that each pixel of theinitial frame into which the advertising component is to be inserted istracked through each frame of the video material. For example, if thetop right pixel of the advertising component is inserted onto a pixel Xof the video material and the pixel X of the video material moves to theleft from frame to frame, the top right pixel of the advertisingcomponent will also move to the left from frame to frame when inserted,i.e. it moves with the pixel X. The resulting video material andintegrated advertising component produces an image in which theadvertising component is blended seamlessly into the video material andintegrated into the same format.

The invention is not limited to the above mentioned manipulations andadditional manipulations may also be performed on the advertisingcomponent for example the colour, opacity and/or tone of the advertisingcomponent may be altered.

The advertising component can be manipulated using several differentprocesses and software known to persons skilled in the art. For examplethe post processing software monet™ could be used in order to manipulatethe advertising component at step S216.

Monet™ currently supports QuickTime™ as a movie format, with theQuickTime libraries supplied by Apple™ on Mac™ and Windows™. AVI filescreated using a codec supported by QuickTime™ can be read by monet™. Inaddition various single frame formats can be read and written by monet™,for example JPEG and TIFF. Embodiments are not limited to such formatsand may in addition adopt different known or future formats.

Other movie formats that can be read by monet™ include, withoutlimitation:

-   -   AVI files through the use of DirectShow™ code linking to the        LeadTools™ libraries licensed on Windows™;    -   Raw MPEG files read by QuickTime™ and DirectShow™;    -   WMV format available in the LeadTools™ libraries;    -   DV (Digital Video) files supported by QuickTime™;    -   3DPP files written by QuickTime™; and    -   DivX, an MPEG consumer format usually packaged into an AVI file,        which can be read by QuickTime™ and DirectShow™.

Video material preparation tools which can be used include, withoutlimitation:

-   -   Autodesk Discreet Cleaner (http://www.autodesk.com/cleaner);    -   Apple Compressor, provided with Final Cut Pro and HD Studio;    -   Sorensen Squeeze (http://www.sorensonmedia.com/);    -   Adobe Encore (http://www.adobe.com/products/encore/);and    -   Microsoft.

Formats which allow for the insertion of a clickable hyperlinkadvertising component include, without limitation:

-   -   RealNetworks        (http://www.realnetworks.com/products/media_players.html);    -   QuickTime™    -   Coull Media        (http://www.coull.biz/solutions/coull-interact/demonstration/player        .php); and    -   MPEG-4.

One advertising component can be placed into multiple video material, orseveral different advertising components could be inserted intodifferent video material which are all part of the same advertisingcampaign. In another embodiment different advertising components can beinserted into video material of different formats, which are to beviewed using different electronic devices, such that an advertisingcomponent can be viewed on multiple different types of electronicdevices.

Following insertion and manipulation of the advertising component, theselected video material is displayed having the advertising componentinserted therein at step S218. The user 20 can then approve or rejectthe integrated video material and advertising component at step S220. Inone embodiment the advertising component placement facility provider(AdBroker services provider 5) can also approve or reject the videomaterial and advertising component. Furthermore, the producer of thevideo material may also be provided with an opportunity to approve orreject the integrated video material and advertising component.

If the integrated video material and advertising component is rejectedby the user 20 at step S220, then the user can elect to return to stepS204, step S214 or step S216 in order to reselect video material, insertthe advertising component in a different Placement-Zone within theoriginally selected video material or re-manipulate the insertedadvertising component, illustrated by the dotted line D5, D6 and D7respectively. Alternatively, if the integrated video material andadvertising component is rejected by the advertising component placementfacility provider (AdBroker services provider 5) or the video materialproducer, the reason for its rejection is provided to the user 20, andthe user 20 is ask to return to step S204, step S214 or step S216 inorder to reselect video material, insert the advertising component in adifferent Placement-Zone within the originally selected video materialor re-manipulate the inserted advertising component, illustrated by thedotted line D5, D6 and D7 respectively.

Step S220 enables the user 20 to approve the placement, quality,duration, appropriateness to campaign, message and or values etc. of theintegrated video material and advertising component prior to releasingthe integrated video material and advertising component.

In one embodiment the selected video material is displayed without theadvertising component next to the selected video material with theinserted advertising component, as illustrated in FIGS. 6A and 6B, sothat it is easy for the user 20 to compare the video material. In afurther embodiment of the invention, acceptance of the video materialand integrated advertising component is acceptance of not only the videomaterial and advertising component, but also acceptance of the cost ofplacement of the advertising component and the acceptance of anyliability. In addition, acceptance may trigger billing of the user 20.

In another embodiment of the invention, the user 20 may be presentedwith several different alternative integrated video material andadvertising components to select from. Furthermore, approval may dependon targeting criteria and performance criteria as measured in the videomaterial league table 16.

In one embodiment of the invention the user 20 (advertising agencyand/or direct advertisers 25) makes a payment to the advertisingcomponent placement facility provider (AdBroker services provider 5)whenever an advertising component is successfully placed into videomaterial and the video material returned to its original location.Furthermore, the user 20 may make a payment to the advertising componentplacement facility provider (AdBroker services provider 5) whenever theintegrated video material and advertising component is viewed. In afurther embodiment, if the advertising component comprises a clickablehyper-link to the advertisers website or web page, the user 20 makes apayment to the advertising component placement facility provider(AdBroker services provider 5) every time the link is activated by aconsumer. A percentage of these payments may be distributed to the videomaterial producers, suppliers and right holder 15, the creative servicesprovider 35, the metrics, valuation and billing services providers 45and/or the video material distributors 55 as appropriate.

For example, in one embodiment, an advertising agency and/or directadvertiser 25 may make in initial payment to the advertising componentplacement facility provider (AdBroker services provider 5) for theplacement of an advertising component in video material, and anotherpayment to the advertising component placement facility provider(AdBroker services provider 5) every time the integrated video materialand advertising component is viewed.

In a further embodiment, the advertising component placement facilityprovider (AdBroker services provider 5) may receive a percentage of anadvertising agencies 25 fee, if the advertising agencies 25 uses theadvertising component placement facility provider (AdBroker servicesprovider 5) to integrate video material and an advertising component.

In another embodiment, the advertising component placement facilityprovider (AdBroker services provider 5) may have a revenue sharearrangement agreed with the video material producers, suppliers andright holder 15, the creative services provider 35, the metrics,valuation and billing services providers 45 and/or the video materialdistributors 55 as appropriate.

In another embodiment of the invention a bidding system exists for themost popular video material, such as the most viewed video material.Users 20 representing different advertising components can bid to inserttheir advertising component in the video material, and the mostdesirable bidder is successful.

Following acceptance of the integrated video material and advertisingcomponent at step S220, the video material and advertising component arestored in the storage device 26. In one embodiment of the invention, thestorage device 26 may be the storage device from which the selectedvideo material was retrieved at step S206. Finally, the video materialand integrated advertising component are returned to the originallocation from which the video material was retrieved at step S206, instep S224.

The process and apparatus of the invention is capable of use withmulti-format video material. Video material recorded using any one of aplurality of different software is capable of use with the system andapparatus of the invention. The video material is transcoded whenretrieved form it original location at step S112 into a format which acapable of use with the system and method of the invention, as describedherein before. Then, when the video material is returned to its originallocation, the video material is transcoded into the appropriate originalformat having the same tag and address as the video material had priorto it being retrieved from its original location at step S206.Furthermore upon return of the video material and integrated advertisingcomponent to the video material original location at step S224 thedistributor system of the video material is notified. Alternatively, thevideo material and integrated advertising component may be sent to adifferent location for distribution.

In one embodiment of the invention it is possible to insert more thanone advertising component in the same video material. For example, ifthere are two or more Placement-Zones in a video material, then two ormore advertising components (from the same of different advertisers) maybe inserted into the video material. In one embodiment an advertisingcomponent may be inserted into a Placement-Zone in the background of avideo material and another advertising component may be inserted into aPlacement-Zone in the foreground of the video material.

In another embodiment, an advertising component may be inserted into avideo material in respect of only one country or region, such asAmerica, then a different advertising component may be inserted into thevideo material, in the same or a different Placement-Zone, in respect ofa different country or region such as Great Britain. A region may be asubsection (state/county) of a country, such as Texas. Alternatively, aregion may be a group of countries such as Europe.

If different advertising components are inserted into the same videomaterial in respect of certain countries or regions only, then adatabase can be created for the video material detailing the differentadvertising components which are to be inserted into the video materialand the countries or regions to which each different advertisingcomponent applies.

In the embodiments of the invention described above the advertisingcomponent is inserted into the Placement-Zone of the video material,manipulated and then the integrated video material and advertisingcomponent are returned to the video materials original location. Theintegrated video material and advertising component can then be viewedvia an electronic device such as, for example, personal computers,digital television set-top boxes, mobile telephones, personal digitalassistances (PDA's), gaming systems and/or MP3 players. However, if theadvertising component is a dynamic advertising component, as describedabove, such that the advertising component is to be inserted in respectof only a particular region/country, or if the advertising component isto be altered depending on the viewing consumer (described in furtherdetail below), it is possible to send the video material separately fromthe dynamic advertising component to a targeter, such as illustrated inFIG. 10A.

FIG. 10A illustrates the arrangement where a video material file and adynamic advertising component file are input to the AdBroker servicesprovider 5, and a zoned video material file and a tagged dynamicadvertising component file are sent to a video material distributor 55(targeter). The tagged advertising component file is a processed formatof the advertising component file and includes instruction forintegration of the advertising component file into the video materialfile, such as which Placement-Zone the advertising component is to beinserted into, and how the advertising component is to be manipulated.The zoned video material file is a processed format of the videomaterial file and includes at least one Placement-Zone.

The targeter combines the zoned video material file and the taggeddynamic advertising component file prior to sending the integrated videomaterial and advertising component to the correct type of electronicdevice. This methods of sending data, streams the data such that it isbandwidth friendly. It is also advantageous if, for example, theadvertising component is to be changed depending on the viewing regionor the viewer.

FIG. 10B illustrates an embodiment of the invention where a videomaterial file and a static advertising component file are input to theAdBroker services provider 5. The AdBroker services provider 5 combinesthe video material file and the static advertising component file tocreate an integrated video material and advertising component file. Theintegrated video material and advertising component file is then sent tothe electronic devices via a video material distributor 55 (notillustrated). This arrangement is not bandwidth friendly as theintegrated video material file and advertising component file is largerthan the separate zoned video material file and a tagged dynamicadvertising component file. Furthermore, this arrangement is not livebroadcast friendly as the advertising component must be inserted intothe video material prior to broadcast. Furthermore, since the videomaterial and advertising component are combined prior to distribution,multiple file versions of the integrated video material and advertisingcomponent must be sent to the broadcaster, as a different file versionmay be required depending on the viewing region or the viewer.Consequently multiple streams of data must be sent from the AdBrokerservices provider 5 to the video material distributor 55.

The process illustrated in FIGS. 7 and 8 enables advertising componentsto be inserted into video material, following recording of the videomaterial. In this way advertising revenue can be generated frompre-recorded video material without deteriorating the consumers viewingpleasure by inserting spliced advertising components. Furthermore, theprocess illustrated in FIGS. 7 and 8 enables advertising components tobe inserted into, for example, back catalogues of films or televisionprograms.

In one embodiment of the invention the process illustrated in FIG. 7 canbe modified to include a further step S300 of obtaining video materialviewer data from a video material viewer data provider 28. Videomaterial viewer data is demographic data determined about the viewers ofthe video material, such as the average age of the viewers.

Consumer's of electronic devices such as for example, personalcomputers, digital television set-top boxes, mobile telephones, personaldigital assistances (PDA's), gaming systems and/or MP3 players are inmost instances required to login and/or register the device.Consequently, it is possible to obtain data, such as, for example, thesex, age, and profession etc. of the consumer. This data can then beobtained from the electronic device when the consumer views videomaterial using their electronic device.

In addition, it is possible to use the electronic devices in order tomonitor which video material a consumer views, and consequentlydetermine data about the consumer such as the genre of video materialthe consumer most frequently views.

FIG. 11 illustrates part of the process illustrated in FIG. 7 modifiedto include the additional step S300 of obtaining video material viewerdata from a video material viewer data provider 28. The step S300 isinserted between the step S106 of inserting the video material into thevideo material catalogue 12 and the step S108 of obtaining videomaterial statistics data from the video material statistics provider 14.

It is also possible to insert the step S300 between the step S102 ofinserting the video material into the video material inventory 10 andthe step S108 of obtaining video material statistic data from the videomaterial statistics provider 14. This arrangement can be used when avideo material catalogue 12 is not created, such as the arrangementillustrated by the dotted line D2.

FIG. 12 illustrates an alternative arrangement of part of the processillustrated in FIG. 7 modified to include the additional step S300 ofobtaining video material viewer data from a video material viewer dataprovider 28. The step S300 is inserted between the step S110 ofinserting the video material into the video material league table 16 andthe step S112 of retrieving the video material from it originallocation.

Additional step S300 enhances the process of the invention as a user 20who inserts an advertising component in video material can select thevideo material based on the viewer data. For example, if the user 20 isrequired to insert an, advertising component for a brand of shaving gel,the user 20 may wish to select a video material which is viewedpredominantly by men between the ages of 18 and 40. Therefore, the user20 can review the video material viewer data in order to determine whichvideo material(s) are viewed predominantly by men between the ages of 18and 40, select that video material and insert the advertising component.In this way an advertising component can be inserted into a videomaterial in order to target a specific type of consumer.

In a further embodiment of the invention it is possible for severaldifferent advertising components to be inserted into the samePlacement-Zone of the same video material. For example, a video materialmay be equally popular with men and women of different ages. Therefore,a user 20 may insert a first advertising component into the videomaterial such that the first advertising component will be displayed inthe video material whenever it is determined from the video materialviewer data that the viewer is a women. In addition, a different or thesame user 20 may insert a different second advertising component intothe video material such that the second advertising component will bedisplayed whenever it is determined from the video material viewer datathat the viewer is a man. Accordingly, an advertising component can befurther targeted at a specific type of consumer. In this instance theprocess illustrated in FIG. 10A is preferable, where a dynamicadvertising component are inserted “on the fly”, rather than a pluralityof video material and integrated advertising components being generated,each of the plurality of video material and integrated advertisingcomponents comprising a different advertising component.

Although the above description refers to a user 20 (advertising agencyor direct advertiser 25) selecting and inserting the advertisingcomponent. It is possible for the advertising component to be insertedinto the video material at step S214 and manipulated at step S216 by theadvert placement facility provider (the AdBroker services provider 5).

FIG. 13 illustrates an exemplary computing device 1000 such as anadvertising component placement facility provider (AdBroker servicesprovider 5) server, which is used to perform the above mentionedprocesses.

The computing device 1000 comprises a communication interface 100, acentral processing unit 200; storage devices 300 and 400 an input/outputinterface 600, and an AdBroker services provider engine 800 operativelycoupled by a connection network 700, illustrated in FIG. 13. Theconnection network 700 may be an electrical bus, an optical network,switch fabric or any other suitable interconnection system.

The AdBroker services provider server 1000 is connected over a network500 to at least one advertising agency/direct advertiser computer 1500;at least one creative services provider computer 2000; at least onemetrics, valuation and billing services provider computer 2500; at leastone video material distributor computer 3000; and at least one videomaterial producers, suppliers and right holders computer 3500. Thenetwork 500 may be for example the internet.

The central processing unit 200 controls the advertising componentplacement facility provider server 1000 and may be a conventionalmicroprocessor.

The storage device 300 is a temporary storage device and comprises aretrieved video material storage device 310 and an uploaded advertisingcomponent storage device 320. The storage device 400 comprises a videomaterial inventory storage device 410, a video material cataloguestorage device 420, and a video material league table storage device430. Although the storage devices 300 and 400 are illustrated asseparate storage devices, one storage device may be used to store allthe data. Alternatively, such devices as mentioned herein may bedistributed over different servers or systems.

The temporary storage device 300 may be, for example one or moreconventional random access memory (RAM) devices, Flash memory devices,and/or electrically erasable programmable read only memory (EEPROM)devices. Furthermore, although the storage device 300 is describedherein as a temporary storage device, in other embodiments the storagedevice 300 may be a permanent storage device.

The communications interface 100 provides a bidirectional datacommunication coupling for the AdBroker services provider server 1000.The communication interface 100 can be functionally coupled to thenetwork 500. In one embodiment, the communications interface 100provides one or more input/output ports for receiving electrical, radiofrequency, or optical signals and converts signals received on theport(s) to a format suitable for transmission on the connection network700. The communications interface 100 can include a radio frequencymodem and other logic associated with sending and receiving wireless orwireline communications. For example the communications interface 100can provide an EtherNet interface, Bluetooth and/or wireless capabilityfor the computing device 1000.

Operation of the exemplary AdBroker services provider server 1000 willnow be described with reference to the process illustrated in FIG. 7.

Video material is identified as suitable in step S100 and at least apointer to the video material is stored in the video material inventorystorage device 410. In one embodiment the video material files itself isstored. As stated above the step of identifying video material may beperformed by any person who has the authority to determine whether thevideo material is suitable. Following storage of a relevant pointer orvideo material in the video material inventory storage device 410, thevideo material is allocated at least one category and is stored in thevideo material catalogue storage device 420.

Next video material statistics are obtained from the video materialstatistics provider 14 (the at least one metrics, valuation and billingservices provider computer 2500). The video material statistics can beassociated with the video material by a person. Alternatively, the CPU200 may associate the a relevant pointer or video material statisticswith the video material stored in the video material inventory storagedevice 410 or the video material catalogue storage device 420 inaccordance with instructions from the AdBroker services provider engine800. In one embodiment, the CPU 200 associates the correct statistics tothe correct video material based on an unique identifier associated witheach video material and the statistics and stores the video material inthe video material league table storage device 430. The above steps canin principle be performed without necessarily bringing a version of thevideo material onto the system. For example, a web friendlyrepresentation of the video material or a pointer to the video materialmay be stored in the video material inventory storage device 410.

To process the video material a version of the video material isrequired to be retrieved. Consequently, the identified video material isretrieved from a relevant location, from the video material producers,suppliers and right holders computer 3500 for processing. The AdBrokerservices provider engine 800 instructs the CPU 200 to retrieve the videomaterial from the relevant location via the communication interface 100and the network 500. The retrieved selected video material is thenstored in the retrieved video material storage device 310 by the CPU200. The retrieved video material is examined by the CPU 200 inaccordance with instructions from the AdBroker services provider engine800 to determine if there is at least one Placement-Zone in the videomaterial. The video material is scanned to locate any area within thevideo material which can be tracked reliably, as it is in view for atleast a minimum predetermined period of time and is of at least aminimum predetermined area. Following identification of at least onePlacement-Zone, a place holder generated by the CPU 200 is inserted inthe detected Placement-Zone. The video material is then stored in astorage device by the CPU 200. At this point the zoned video materialmay be placed in the storage device 310, with a pointer to it in the (oreach of) the inventory, catalogue, and league table. Searchableinformation relating to the video material may be associated with thevideo material or pointer in any one of the inventory, catalogue, andleague table. Finally, the identified video material is returned to itsoriginal location with the place-holder(s) via the communicationinterface 100 and the network 500.

Operation of the AdBroker services provider server 1000 will now bedescribed with reference to the process illustrated in FIG. 8.

A user 20 (advertising agency/direct advertiser) enters the advertisingcomponent placement facility 22 at step S200. The advertisingagency/direct advertiser computer 1500 is able to communicate with theAdBroker services provider server 1000 via the network 500. The user isdisplayed selected contents of the video material inventory storagedevice 410 and/or the video material catalogue storage device 420 and/orthe video material league table storage device 430 as appropriate viathe front end server 4000.

The user 20 selects at least one pre-processed zoned video material forthe placement of an advertising component at step S204. A signalindicating which video material has been selected is sent from the userto the AdBroker services provider server 1000. The AdBroker servicesprovider engine 800 then instructs the CPU 200 to retrieve the selectedvideo material from its original location and store it in the retrievedvideo material storage device 310. Furthermore, the user 20 uploads anadvertising component from the advertising agency/direct advertisercomputer 1500 or the creative services provider computer 2000 to theAdBroker services provider sever 1000 via the network 500 and thecommunication interface 100. The AdBroker services provider engine 800causes the uploaded advertising component to be stored in the uploadedadvertising component storage device 320.

Upon instruction from the AdBroker services provider engine 800 the CPU200 retrieves the video material from the retrieved video materialstorage device 310 and the advertising component from the uploadedadvertising component storage device 320 and inserts the advertisingcomponent onto the place holder in the selected video material, so thatthe advertising component is arranged in the Placement-Zone of the videomaterial.

Following insertion of the advertising component into the selected videomaterial, the advertising component is then manipulated. The usermanipulates the video material using known software technology, whichresides in the AdBroker services provider engine 800. The AdBrokerservices provider engine 800 instructs the CPU 100 to manipulate theadvertising component. The manipulation involves the integration of theadvertising component with the digital operating format of the videomaterial by means of tracking the digital image information of the videomaterial. This produces a video material integrated with the advertisingcomponent in the operating format. Following manipulation of theadvertising component, the user is given an opportunity to view theintegrated video material and advertising component via the network 500and to approve the video material and advertising component. If thevideo material and advertising component is approved, the CPU 200 isinstructed to store the video material and advertising component in astorage device and return the video material and advertising componentto its original location for distribution via the video materialdistributor computer 3000.

In alternative embodiments hardwired circuitry may be used in place ofor in combination with software instructions to implement aspects of theinvention. Thus, embodiments of the invention are not limited to anyspecific combination of hardware circuitry and/or software disclosedherein.

An advantage of the process and apparatus of the invention is that anadvertising component, once placed can reach a wider audience thanpreviously achievable using conventional advertising methods.Consequently, the revenue generated by the placement of an advertisingcomponent using the process and apparatus of the invention can beincreased.

Furthermore, the process and apparatus of the invention enables anadvertising component to be more accurately targeted at specificconsumers than previously achievable. Consequently, the revenuegenerated by the placement of an advertising component using the processand apparatus of the invention can be increased.

In addition, the process and apparatus of the invention enables a videomaterial to have multiple different advertising components, such as adifferent advertising component for a different region or country, ordifferent advertising component depending on who the viewing consumeris. Consequently, the same Placement-Zone can be sold multiple times,increasing the amount of revenue which can be generated by the processand apparatus of the invention.

Another advantage of the process and apparatus of the invention is thatadvertising components can be placed by smaller brand holders regionallyas well as by larger global brand holders. Furthermore, video materialwhich already exists can be rejuvenated to generate revenue, by theinclusion of advertising components, such as back catalogues of filmsand television programs.

Another advantage of the process and apparatus of the invention is thatthe insertion of advertising components into video material isnon-intrusive and therefore does not disrupt the consumers viewingpleasure.

Those skilled in the art will appreciate that while the foregoing hasdescribed what is considered to be the best mode and, where appropriate,other modes of performing the invention, the invention should not belimited to the specific configurations and methods disclosed in thisdescription of the preferred embodiment. Those skilled in the art willrecognize that the invention has a broad range of applications in manydifferent types of advertising, and that the embodiments may take a widerange of modifications without departing from the inventive concept asdefined in the appended claims.

1. A method of preparing video material for distribution comprising:providing a repository of video material; analyzing video material todefine placement zones for placement of digital advertising components;electronically placing one or more digital advertising components invideo material; and outputting video material for distribution.
 2. Themethod according to claim 1, wherein said step of electronically placingcomprises digital tracking of the digital video material such that afterthe placing step the digital advertising components is integrated withinthe format of the digital video material.
 3. The method according toclaim 2, wherein the tracking involves feature by feature tracking overa plurality of frames.
 4. The method according to claim 2, wherein thetracking involves pixel by pixel tracking over a series of frames. 5.The method according to claim 1, wherein a plurality of digitaladvertising components are placed in different placement zones of avideo material item.
 6. The method according to claim 1, wherein therepository of video material holds many individual items of videomaterial from various video material sources.
 7. The method according toclaim 1, wherein the repository of video material comprises videomaterial from a plurality of different sources.
 8. The method accordingto claim 7, wherein the video material from different sources is indifferent formats.
 9. The method according to claim 1, wherein the videomaterial into which digital advertising components are to be placed isconverted into one or more digital operating formats in which the stepof placement takes place.
 10. The method according to claims 1, whereindistribution of the video material is performed via the source of theoriginal material.
 11. The method according to claim 1, whereindistribution of the video material is performed via separate videodistribution channels.
 12. The method according to claim 1, whereinvideo material which is distributed to different users or to differentgeographical regions or to different demographical regions carriesdifferent digital advertising components.
 13. A method of generating amarket for placement zones in video material, the method comprising:providing a brokerage interface through which parties wishing to placeadvertising components can bid competitively for placement zones; and/ora valuation is placed on one or more placement zones such that it can beoffered to the market at a predetermined price or at a particularreserve price.
 14. A method for preparing video material fordistribution, comprising: receiving video material from a plurality ofvideo sources; receiving digital advertising components; converting thevideo material from said video sources into one or more operatingformats suitable for receiving placement of a digital advertisingcomponent; electronically placing the digital advertising component intothe video material in an operating format such that the digitaladvertising component becomes integrated into said video materialformat; and outputting said video material for distribution.
 15. Amethod of preparing digital video material from a plurality of videomaterial sources for distribution, comprising: preparing video materialby processing the video material to identify suitable placement zonesfor receiving digital advertising components; generating a market forone or more placement zones; and placing a digital advertising componentin a particular placement zone responsive to a request from anadvertiser for a particular digital advertising component to be placedin that placement zone.
 16. The method according to claim 15, whereinsaid advertiser is an advertising agency and/or a brand holder.
 17. Themethod according to claim 15, wherein there is a correlation between thedigital advertising component placed and the placement zone selected forits placement and/or the video material in which the placement zoneresides.
 18. The method according to claim 15, wherein said processingis performed electronically.
 19. The method according to claim 15,wherein said processing is performed manually.
 20. The method accordingto claim 15, wherein the digital advertising component is a graphicalelement supplied by one or more of: an advertiser; a brand holder; and acreative services provider.
 21. The method according to claim 15,further comprising providing a repository of video material.
 22. Amethod of preparing video material for distribution, comprising:preparing video material by processing the video material to identifysuitable placement zones for receiving digital advertising components;valuing individual placement zones and/or pluralities of placement zonesand providing information on said valuations to advertisers; andreceiving a selection of placement zone(s) responsive to provision ofsaid valuations.
 23. The method according to claim 22, wherein the stepof valuation comprises receiving or generating one or more metricsrelating to said video material.
 24. The method according to claim 22,wherein the valuation of a particular placement-zone is based at leastin part on one or more metrics relating to a historic or anticipatedfuture viewing statistics.
 25. The method according to claim 24, whereinthe statistics are a function of the popularity of the video material inwhich the placement zone resides.
 26. The method according to claim 24,wherein the statistics are a function of the intended distributionchannel.
 27. The method according to claim 24, wherein the statisticsare a function of the placement zone having regard to other placementzones.
 28. The method according to claim 23, further comprisingproviding a repository of video material.
 29. A method of advertising indigital video material, comprising: obtaining consent from a pluralityof sources of video material to place digital advertising components invideo material from said sources; receiving and aggregating videomaterial from a plurality of sources; preparing video material forplacement of digital advertising components, including identifying andmarking suitable placement zones; receiving from an advertiser aselection from among available placement zones for a particularadvertising component; placing said particular advertising component inthe relevant placement zone responsive to said selection; and outputtingthe video material with the digital advertising component placed withinit.
 30. The method according to claim 29, further comprising: obtainingthe approval of the video material owner/distributor for the combinationof placed advertising component and video material.
 31. The methodaccording to claim 29, further comprising: obtaining the approval of theadvertiser for the combination of the placed advertising component andthe video material.
 32. The method according to claim 31, wherein thestep of approval by the advertiser triggers a charge to be applied torelevant parties.
 33. The method according to claim 29, wherein apayment falls due to a placement facility from a party placing a digitaladvertising component on one or more of: (i) placement; and (ii) supplyof the digital video material with the relevant component or componentsplaced therein to a distributor for distribution.
 34. The methodaccording to claim 33, wherein the payment is applied based onsubsequent viewing activities or subsequent click through activities.35. The method according to claim 33, wherein payments are distributedamong one or more of: the parties placing the digital advertisingcomponent; the sources of video material; creative services; anddistributors of the video material.
 36. The method according to claim33, wherein payments are made to metrics providers and/or billingpartners.
 37. The method according to claim 29, wherein the placementfacility shares advertising revenue with advertising agencies ifadvertisers place adverts through the facility.
 38. A method ofpreparing digital video material for distribution, comprising: providinga repository of video material; preparing individual video materialitems within said repository of video material for receiving placementof a digital advertising component by defining one or more placementzones suitable for receiving such a digital advertising component;providing a mechanism for selection of a placement zone in videomaterial for a particular digital advertising component by anadvertiser; placing a digital advertising component responsive to aselection of an advertiser; and charging at least said advertiser basedon said selection.
 39. The method according to claim 38, wherein thedigital advertising component may comprise a dynamic link.
 40. Themethod according to claim 39, wherein the dynamic link allows users tobenefit from a further or enhanced experience associated with theadvertiser, the brand or brand holder.
 41. The method according to claim39, wherein the dynamic link connects to a facility for measuring userresponse to targeted advertising components.
 42. A method ofcategorizing video material in a repository based at least in part onone or more of: genre; popularity; and price.
 43. The method accordingto claim 42, wherein the categorized video material is searchable basedon such categories or provided in a ranking table in order of priorityaccording to some measure of relevance.
 44. A method of categorizingplacement zones within video material, based at least in part on one ormore of: genre; popularity; and price.
 45. The method according to claim44, wherein the categorized placement zones are searchable or providedin a ranking table in order of priority according to some measure ofrelevance.
 46. A method of processing video material for advertisingcomponent placement, the method comprising: scanning video materialsuitable for advertising component placement to detect a placement zoneof a minimum predetermined area and in view for a minimum predeterminedperiod of time; inserting a place-holder in the placement zone; andsaving the video material with the place-holder to storage means.
 47. Amethod of operating a computer for processing video material foradvertising component placement, the method comprising: providing avideo material processor for scanning video material suitable foradvertising component placement to detect a placement zone of a minimumpredetermined area and in view for a minimum predetermined period oftime; causing the video material processor to insert a place-holder inthe placement-zone; and saving in storage means the video material withthe place-holder.
 48. The method according to claim 47, furthercomprising: allocating the scanned video material to at least onecategory of video material.
 49. The method according to claim 48,wherein the step of allocating the scanned video material to at leastone category is performed prior to scanning the video material.
 50. Themethod according to claim 48, wherein the step of allocating the scannedvideo material to at least one category is performed after the videomaterial is saved in the storage device.
 51. The method according toclaim 47, further comprising: inserting the scanned video material in acategory of a video material catalogue.
 52. The method according toclaim 47, further comprising: inserting the scanned video material in avideo material inventory.
 53. The method according to claim 52, whereinthe step of inserting the scanned video material in a video materialinventory is performed prior to scanning the video material.
 54. Themethod according to claim 52, wherein the step of inserting the scannedvideo material in a video material inventory is performed after thevideo material is saved in the storage device.
 55. The method accordingto claim 51, wherein the video material catalogue comprises videomaterial data associated with scanned video material.
 56. The methodaccording to claim 55, wherein the video material data comprisesduration of the video material and/or date of creation of the videomaterial.
 57. The method according to claim 48, wherein the categorycomprises genre of video material, type of video material and/or contentof video material.
 58. The method according to claim 47, furthercomprising: obtaining video material statistics about the video materialfrom a video material statistics provider; and associating the videomaterial statistics with the video material.
 59. The method according toclaim 47, further comprising: inserting the video material in a videomaterial league table, wherein the video material statistics are used todetermine a position of the video material in the video material leaguetable.
 60. The method according to claim 47, further comprising:retrieving video material from its current location prior to scanningthe video material; and returning the video material to its currentlocation following processing of the video material.
 61. The methodaccording to claim 47, further comprising: obtaining consumer viewingdata from a consumer viewing data provider.
 62. The method according toclaim 61, wherein the consumer viewing data comprises a consumerviewer's age, a consumer viewer's sex, and/or a consumer viewer'soccupation.
 63. The method according to claim 61, wherein the step ofobtaining consumer viewing data is performed prior to scanning the videomaterial.
 64. The method according to claim 61, wherein the step ofobtaining consumer viewing data is performed after saving the videomaterial.
 65. A method of inserting an advertising component in videomaterial, the method comprising: selecting video material suitable forinsertion of an advertising component; and inserting an advertisingcomponent into a place-holder within the selected video material,wherein the place-holder marks an area of the selected video materialwhich is predetermined as suitable for the insertion of an advertisingcomponent.
 66. The method according to claim 65, further comprising:receiving instructions to manipulate the advertising component; andprocessing the advertising component by applying the receivedmanipulation instructions to produce an integrated video material andadvertising component.
 67. The method according to claim 66, wherein themanipulation instructions comprise resizing, rotating, altering colour,altering opacity, reducing red eye, adding blurring shadows andreflections, altering light or altering grain size.
 68. The methodaccording to claim 65, wherein the advertising component is a staticadvertising component.
 69. The method according to claim 65, wherein theadvertising component is a dynamic advertising component.
 70. The methodaccording to claim 65, wherein the advertising component provides a linkto an advertiser's website or web page.
 71. The method according toclaim 65, further comprising: displaying the selected video material andinserted advertising component for approval.
 72. The method according toclaim 65, further comprising: inserting a second advertising componentinto a second place-holder within the selected video material.
 73. Themethod according to claim 65, wherein a first advertising component isinserted into the selected video material for a first region and asecond advertising component is inserted into the selected videomaterial for a second region different from the first region.
 74. Themethod according to claim 73, wherein a region comprises a country, astate, a county or a group of countries.
 75. The method according toclaim 65, wherein a first advertising component is inserted into theselected video material when it is determined that a viewing consumer isa first viewing consumer and a second advertising component is insertedinto the selected video material when it is determined that the viewingconsumer is a second viewing consumer, the first viewing consumer beingof a different consumer group to the first viewing consumer.
 76. Themethod according to claim 75, wherein the first viewing consumer is amale and the second viewing consumer is a female.
 77. The methodaccording to claim 65, wherein the video material is displayed in avideo material inventory comprising at least one video material.
 78. Themethod according to claim 65, wherein the video material is displayed ina category of a video material catalogue comprising at least one videomaterial.
 79. The method according to claim 65, further comprising:retrieving the video material from a storage device prior to insertionof the advertising component.
 80. The method according to claim 79,further comprising returning the video material to the storage deviceafter insertion of the advertising component.
 81. The method accordingto claim 65, wherein the advertising component is uploaded from a user'scomputer.
 82. The method according to claim 65, wherein the advertisingcomponent is inserted into the place-holder within the video materialbefore being transmitted over a distribution network.
 83. The methodaccording to claim 65, wherein the advertising component and the videomaterial are transmitted over a distribution network, and then theadvertising component is inserted into the place-holder within the videomaterial.
 84. A method of operating a computer for inserting anadvertising component in a video material, the method comprising:selecting video material suitable for insertion of an advertisingcomponent; and receiving at a video material processor instructions toinsert an advertising component into a place-holder within the selectedvideo material, wherein the place-holder marks an area of the selectedvideo material which is predetermined as suitable for the insertion ofan advertising component.
 85. A computer apparatus comprising: an ingestmodule operable to interface at least one video material source and toreceive digital video material from said source; a grooming moduleoperable to analyze ingested video material to identify and mark one ormore placement zones in said video material which is suitable forreceiving a digital advertising component; a placement module capable ofplacing a digital advertising component into a marked placement zonewithin said video material; and an export module interfacing one or morevideo material distributors and capable of exporting video material withdigital advertising components placed therein for distribution in adistribution format.
 86. The computer apparatus according to claim 85,further comprising an approval module interfacing one or more of: anadvertiser; a video material source; and a video material distributor.87. The computer apparatus according to claim 85, wherein one or more ofsaid ingest module, said grooming module, and said placement module iscapable of detecting formats of the digital video material and, whereappropriate, converting received video material into an operating formatin which digital graphical advertising components can be placed intosaid video material electronically.
 88. The computer apparatus accordingto claim 85, wherein one or more of said placement module, said approvalmodule, and said export module is capable of converting video materialwith digital advertising components placed therein into one or morepredetermined distribution formats.
 89. The computer apparatus accordingto claim 85, further comprising: a metrics module for generating and/orreceiving valuation information about video material.
 90. The computerapparatus according to claim 85, further comprising: a billing modulearranged to charge an advertiser which successfully places a digitaladvertising component in a placement zone offered by the computerapparatus.
 91. A grooming module comprising: software having code fortracking candidate placement zones frame by frame to determine theplacement zone has sufficient area and/or duration.
 92. A groomingmodule according to claim 91, wherein the tracking is performedautomatically by the software.
 93. A placement module comprising:software having code for placing digital graphical components intodigital video material in a predetermined digital video operatingformat.
 94. A placement module according to claim 93, wherein saidsoftware integrates said digital graphical component with said digitalvideo material by causing the placed component to track the digitalvideo image information frame by frame.
 95. A placement module accordingto claim 93, wherein the placed advertising component exhibits visualattributes of the placement zone as a sequence of frames progresses. 96.A placement module according to claim 93, wherein the or each placementzone is defined in terms of one or more pixel of a frame in the videomaterial.
 97. A placement module according to claim 93, wherein saidplacement zone is marked by an appropriate place-holder.
 98. A method ofproviding video material with one or more integrated advertisingcomponents, comprising: receiving digital video material and a digitaladvertising component for placement therein; preparing the videomaterial by determining a placement zone for said advertising componentwithin said video material and associating said advertising componentwith the placement zone; and sending the prepared video material and theassociated advertising component to a remote combining module operableto combine the prepared video material and the advertising component byintegrating said advertising component into said placement zone beforedistribution of said video material.
 99. A method of providing videomaterial with one or more integrated advertising components, comprising:receiving prepared digital video material, said prepared digital videomaterial comprising video material in an operating format and havingdefined within it at least one placement zone for receiving a digitaladvertising component; receiving a digital advertising component with anindication associating it with a particular placement zone in prepareddigital video material; combining the prepared digital video materialwith the digital advertising component by integrating said advertisingcomponent into the particular placement zone within said video material;and outputting said video material for distribution.
 100. The methodaccording to claim 99, wherein a plurality of digital advertisingcomponents are supplied in association with a particular placement zoneof the video material, and different advertising component-placementzone combinations are implemented in respect of alternative distributionchannels and/or different consumers or consumer groups.
 101. The methodaccording to claim 99, wherein the digital advertising components areplaced in particular placement zones of video material based on profilesof individual consumers.
 102. The method according to claim 99, whereinthe profiles of individual consumers are determined where consumers usedevices which require them to log on or similar.